Amazing, isn’t it, how times change, people change?
On April 7, 1983, 42-year-old Larry Brown resigned his NBA New Jersey Nets coaching post to take the reigns at Kansas.
Actually, Brown did agree to coach the Nets through the playoffs, but team owner Joe Taub, upset with Brown, would have none of that.
Anyhow, boyish-looking Brown arrived at Kansas — I can’t remember if he wore a Jayhawk tie or not — and the ex-UCLA coach told anybody who asked he defintely preferred college over the pros.
In fact, those who heard Brown at his first KU press conference were left with the distinct impression he’d probably departed the NBA — where there are oh, so many games AND egos — for good.
With Brown officially off to the San Antonio Spurs (perhaps KU’s only hope all along was if Spurs management inadvertently left a zero off his contract, angering Brown business manager Joe Glass), let’s go back and look at some of Larry’s statements — ones dating back anywhere from two to five years ago.
BROWN TO HAL BOCK, AP, APRIL 12, 1983: “The pros are good for certain people but I don’t think I was suited to that type of job. I think I can contribute more to the college game than to the pros.”
In a similar vein . . .
BROWN TO DAVE ANDERSON, NY TIMES, MARCH 31, 1986: “I loved coaching the Nets, but I couldn’t handle the media. And those 100 games . . . Those coaches who handle them are amazing. I see the guys who succeed and I don’t count Billy Cunningham and Pat Riley because they inherited those teams, but the guys who succeed look ahead to the next game, they don’t look back.
“Doug, Moe, Dick Motta, John MacLeod, they were always looking forward. But me, if we won, I went to bed at 3 in the morning and if we lost, I went to bed at 4.”
COMMENT: To Larry, the hassles of recruiting kids and keeping them eligible must outweigh those NBA headaches. Let’s put it another way: For more than $600,000 a year, Brown will now gladly accept lumpy hotel beds and bags under the eyes.
BROWN TO BOCK, APRIL 12, 1983: “I plan to be here (Kansas) a long time. I owe that much to my family and the people who have placed their trust in me. This is the place for me to be.”
COMMENT: To some, five years is an eternity. To others, one solitary speck in the sandglass of life. I guess Larry decided he has been on Mt. Oread “a long time.”
BROWN TO CHUCK WOODLING, APRIL 8, 1983: “Noting he’d enjoyed watching the Final Four on TV, Brown said, “It would be great to be a part of that here.”
COMMENT: One national title and two Final Four appearances in five years . . . sure has been “great,” hasn’t it Larry?
Now that you’re off to San Antonio, you might also bring these “great” memories deown South with you: The 55-game Allen Fieldhous win streak, Late Night With Larry Brown phenomenon and nightly Allen Fieldhouse lovefests with the students chanting your name.
Also, please never forget the negatives: Do the words UCLA, Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington University (yes he was tied to that job, too) and yes, THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS mean anything to you?
